Hayden veteran Charles Riffel named Coeur d'Alene's 2026 military hero

Charles “Chuck” Riffel will be in the center of Coeur d’Alene’s Fourth of July celebration this year, named the 2026 Military Hero of the Year for the American Heroes Parade. The 93-year-old Hayden resident is one of the few remaining Korean War veterans in North Idaho, and the honor will put a lifelong local volunteer in front of tens of thousands of people along Sherman Avenue on July 4.

The celebration will start with a VIP Parade Watch Party at 9 a.m., followed by the American Heroes Parade at 10 a.m. The parade will begin at 15th Street and Sherman Avenue, where the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber expects one of the region’s biggest holiday crowds. ICCU is returning as the presenting sponsor of the celebration, which the chamber has framed as part of America 250, the national commemoration of the country’s 250th birthday.

Riffel’s name has circulated in North Idaho veteran circles for years. He has been active with both the Coeur d’Alene Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion Post 14, where he has served as a trusted advisor and mentor to other veterans. Earlier coverage also placed him on Hayden’s veterans commission, as a member of VFW Post 889 and American Legion Post 14, and later as a life member of VFW Post 889 and the senior vice commander of American Legion Post 14.

His military record has already been marked publicly in Hayden. In 2019, Sen. Jim Risch presented Riffel replacement medals he had originally received in 1953, including the Korean Service Medal, United Nations Medal, National Defense Medal, Good Conduct Medal and Combat Infantryman’s Badge, during a ceremony at Hayden City Hall. That same year, Riffel was named Hayden’s Distinguished Veteran, a recognition that underscored how his service had remained part of the community long after the war ended.

The new honor lands at a time when preserving that history matters more each year. Kootenai County Veterans Services says its mission is to advocate for veterans and their families in filing for VA benefits, and county figures put the veteran population at 14,523 in 2021, making Kootenai County the second most veteran-populous county in Idaho at the time. Local reporting has said veterans make up about 10.5% of county residents, a scale that helps explain why names like Riffel’s still carry weight from Hayden to Coeur d’Alene.

For the chamber and the veteran groups that have known him longest, the July 4 honor is more than a parade announcement. It is a public chance to recognize a Korean War veteran whose service stretched from the battlefield into decades of local leadership, while there is still time to honor him in person.